Sustainable, stylish, affirming: Berkeley’s Teen Center

“This isn’t a building for long-time Berkeleyans to reminisce about the Free Speech Movement or the history of Chez Panisse. It’s for a segment of the population that too often is viewed as a nuisance and threat — and in a location that by its visibility affirms that teenagers belong to our society as a whole.”

So writes John King in the Chronicle today, reviewing the recently opened YMCA PG&E Teen Center for his weekly “Place” column. King approves of the building’s sustainable design, the work of Berkeley architects Noll & Tam who overhauled the existing 1964 PG&E office building on Civic Center Park to give it style and functionality.

The teen center is indeed attractive and congratulations on the sustainability. But it’s not a place to hang out. Kids think it’s a place to study. They still don’t have anywhere to go to socialize that is protected from the elements.